Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1887-03-24

OF the l0gislature VIII result In quite y
saving to the state and the railroads will
prove benefactors to the common wealth.
Many of the members could not afford to
go home every week, and would therefore
work from Monday morning till Saturday
night. They would naturally want to
close the session as early as possible and
would not waste a half day each week in
aimless speech making and boys play.
They would confine their attention to
legislating for the state Of Michigan and
not try TO regulate congress or to establish
home rule in Ireland. They wouldn't have
time to pass as many bad laws as they ex-
pect TO, and they would finish up about
the middle OF May instead of the first OF
July.
The governor has signed the bills pro
hibiting saloons within one mile of the
| soldiers home; and authorizing supervis-
ors to purchase cemeteries Of burial places
for deceased soldiers.
Messrs Perkins Bates and Lincoln have
been appointed the special committee to
investigate fire and marine insurance
companies doing businessin this state.
A resolution for adjournment from
March 80 to April q, was introduced in the
house the other day, but was laid over
The object of the vacation is to give mem
bers an opportunity to go home to vote.
Senator Giddings' bill amending the
game laws as agreed to by the senate COM
mittee OF the whole, Is intended to stop
the spring shooting of duck. The amend
ment reads: "Or any partridge or rutfed
| grouse, or any wild duck, wild goose or
wild water fowl or snipe save on y from
the first day of September in each year to
the first day of January next following
Senator Holbrook offered an amendment
in reference TO deer, shortening the season
for hunting them.
The committee on the mining school at
| Houghton recommend $40 600 for the pur-
chase of site and building, and for the
| equipment and furnishing Of a suitable
| structure for the institution, and $4,000
| for the expense OF running the school. The
mining school is no longer an experiment,
its history during its first years existence
| proving conclusively its utility, and
establishing 1t as one Of Michigan's perma-
nent institutions.
The house felt unsteady inclined the
other morning, and adopted resolution
| to buy piano for the executive parlor.
| A wave OF practical common sense rolled
over the house later, and the matter was
reconsidered and the resolution laid on the
table.
The committee examining the mineral
statistics of Michigan say that 496,510 net
tons of copper have been produced in
| Michigan from 1S45 to 1SS6-valued at
L
worth not less than $3.50, 00O, 900, and the
business of mining is increasing from year
to year; that Michigan is the leading pro-
ducer of salt, the total being nearly one
| half of the entire product of the United
| States. The committee, speaking of gyp-
sum, say IL is another mineral product in
which Michigan takes the lead. "ln 1885 of
al, 100 tons of domestic land plaster and
stucco made in the United States, Michi-
| gan produced 4S403. All of the industri %
| eltpI-nn1 Ilnrp
only OF great Importance, but they are so
steadily growing as to insure a stability
| in the future. IL is to them that the state
will ever owe a large share of her prosper
| ity; and in them numbers of her young
men will seek employment. The aim and
object of the mining school is to fit these
young men to inteligently aid, and ulti-
| mately lead in, the further development Of
these great industries. The time has ar
| rived when all of the processes Of pro
duction must be cheapened, and practical
| science must he brought into requisition
| il Michigan is to remain in the fore front
as the greatest producing mining country
in the world and if her products are to
successfully compete with those of the
| world.n
Commissioner Dix has informed the
house that Michigan has $l65, 100 worth Of
swamp lands at present unentered.
The house has passed the following bill
| SECTION /. The people of the state of
Michigan enact, That il any male person
or persons over the age Of IA years shall
assault female child under the age of 10
| years, and shall take indecent and i'm
proper liberties with the person of such
| child, without committing or intending to
| commit the crime of rape upon such
child, he shall be deemed feIonious as
| saulter, and on conviction thereof shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state
| prison not more than ten years, or by fine
| not exceeding $1,000, or both such fine and
imprisonment in the discretion OF the
| court.
SEC. q Any indictment or information
| charging any person or persons with rape,
| or an attempt to commit rape upon any
female, il such female shall be at the time
such otIense is claimed to have taken place,
under the age of 10 years, may also con
tain a count charging such person or per
sons to be felonious assaulter under sec
| tion one of this act; and the jury who
shall try such case may convict OF either
offense, and may find all or any of the
| persons indicted or informed against
| guilty of either of the offenses charged in
| such indictment or information.
The senate committee has passed the bill
| to allow a clerk for the board of pardons
at a salary not exceeding $1,000 per year,
in spite of the following very facetious
argument by Senator O'Riley; 1.-THE state
Is taxed to support a university to make
lawyers; these lawyers in time become
| junges, and again become tax on the
| people; then the state is taxed to support
q board of pardons to pardon out the per
sons sentenced by the judges, and now the
| proposition is to create a clerkship for this
board. It's a little too much.
Senator Babcock retaliated by saying
that for Is years the law department OF
the university had more than paid all its
expenses; and that last year it paid So, 600
over and above its expenses into the gen.
eral fund of the university.
The bill for indeterminate sentences has
| been reported to the senate without rec
ommendation, and has been placed on the
| general order.
The bill to allow the state agricultural
society to locate permanently the place
| for holding the annual fairs has been re-
| ported favora!'ly in the senate.
| q. A. X. and w. X. g.
The ninth annual encampment of the
Michigan department of g. A. r. of
Michigan was held i'm Grand Rapids.
From the annual report submitted 1t is
seen that the total number of posts of the
n In ba ri, ,a,,t ~